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Too often when Christians think of holiness, they think of avoiding the sins of the flesh. Paul summarizes these in Galatians 5 as “19 The acts of the flesh …: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
But love is at the center of God’s heart, not purity. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (NKJV)
The Greek word for “love” here is “agape,” one of four different Greek words for four different kinds of love: sexual love, family love, brotherly love and self-giving love or agape. Agape is defined as “a love that loves without changing. It is a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting repayment. It is love so great that it can be given to the unlovable or unappealing. It is love that loves even when it is rejected. Agape love gives and loves because it wants to; it does not demand or expect repayment from the love given. It gives because it loves; it does not love in order to receive…it can be defined as a sacrificial, giving, absorbing kind of love. The word has little to do with emotion; it has much to do with self-denial for the sake of another.”
What does this have to do with justice? The chart below provides a picture (imperfect as it is) of what is important to God as measured by the number of times a word or concept is mentioned in the Bible. This can be a misleading measure. There are problems of translations, problems of alternative meanings, and problems with the idea that sheer quantity demonstrates an idea’s importance. Nevertheless, words related to “economic justice” occur 500 times, while words related to “sexual sin” occur only 70 times. (For “economic justice” I included words like “justice,” “the poor,” “strangers,” etc.; for sexual sins I included words such as “adultery,” “sexual immorality,” and “prostitution.” I used the New International Version (NIV) translation).
What is very clear is that there is much more teaching and much more warning about injustice than there is about sexual immorality. That is particularly true in the Old Testament, where the Torah and the Prophets rail against the unjust economic practices of the elite. God calls us to take care of the vulnerable.
For instance, Deuteronomy 14 says:
“28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Note the end of verse 29, the Israelites blessing of the needy would bring God’s blessing to their own work. This generosity to the poor was mediated through several customs in addition to tithing:
Gleaning:
Leviticus 23:22: “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’”
Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25):
10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you;
What happens in the Year of Jubilee?
- All property sold in the last fifty years is returned to the seller.
- All Israelite slaves are to be freed.
- All debts are to be forgiven
This mitigates growing inequality. Debt forgiveness and the return of acquired property redistributes wealth from the rich to the poor. Moreover, 35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you
Jesus similarly stands up for the poor.
Matthew 25: 34-40
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
From the Torah to the Gospels, God stands on the side of the vulnerable –the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner and the foreigner. As Jesus says in Matthew our attitude toward the vulnerable must be the same attitude we would have if we were ministering to Jesus. Compassion is not voluntary. Jesus goes on to say in the same passage that those who ignore the vulnerable will be treated as if they ignored the Lord and will be condemned to everlasting punishment. Sins of omission are equal to sins of commission.
Agape love is a central quality of the children of the King.